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Saturday, August 29, 2015

Greece's black thrash band Swamp and U.S. based death thrash band Fetid Zombie have teamed up alongside Morbid Visions Music to release a new split cassette "Necromantic Passages" featuring new music from both bands. "Necromantic Passages", set to be released in a limited edition this coming September 14th, will include three newly recorded tracks from each band along with artwork designed by long established artist Mark Riddick.

For the first half of the split Swamp offers up two new barbaric hymns of raw and uncompromising blackened death / thrash invoking the true spirit of underground metal, as well as an excellent cover of Tormentor's "Tormentor I". The recording for these tracks took place at Vision of Sound Studio in Ioannina, Greece with help from Thomas Nastos during the mixing process.

The cult is alive!

Fetid Zombie pay homage to the early 90's Greek metal scene on the final few tracks of the split with three new atmospheric Death Metal hymns. Recordings and mixing for these tracks were completed at Dungeon 325 in Leesburg, Virginia (U.S.). Although a solo project at heart Fetid Zombie's lone member Mark Riddick often enlists well known guest musicians, on this release guest appearances by members of Absu, Soulskinner and Where Evil Follows can be found. Fetid Zombie aim to achieve Death Metal in the most classic sense while bringing to the table traditional heavy metal elements showcasing Riddick's broad appreciation for the music he has been dedicated to for the better part of the last twenty five years.

The "Necromantic Passages" split cassette will be available for purchase on the Riddick Art Big Cartel webpage starting September 14th.

The 24th of august this world has been given a gift. A precious gift, which we should not take for granted. A new Rivers Of Nihil album! ‘Monarchy’ is the follow up to 2013’s Conscious Seed Of Light. For many fans or followers this new album will come as a pleasant surprise. ‘Monarchy’ is packed with technical riffing and badassery. Also the vocals have improved very much since ‘Conscious Seed Of Light.’

With 4 instrumentalists and one vocalist from the very top of the techdeath food chain Rivers of Nihil is ready to claim the throne with ‘Monarchy’. River of Nihil show the world this time that it is possible to write even better songs than on the previous album which was very technical in the first place. I strongly feel that ‘Monarchy’ is somehow a little catchy! To me catchiness is a sign of understanding your genre and make people understand what you are doing. Rivers of Nihil show that technical death metal can be really accessible. Something that Beyond Creation did last year with ‘Earthborn Evolution’. You know you are very skilled in your genre when you know what to do to reach a big audience with technical death metal.

The best songs on the album in my opinion are the title track ‘Monarchy’ and the fourth song on the album ‘Sand Baptism’.

Monarchy is a really strong song for the song writing and incorporating lyrics that fit the music. The guitar solo’s in this song are also mind blowing. The solo’s stood out because they use a few techniques you do not hear very much.

‘Sand Baptism’ for me, stood out on sheer brutality. The slow pace of the song really makes it that amazing. The main riff in the song is based on constant tremolo picking with one blow of a huge chord. It sounds so simple but you know what people say, less is more. Also ‘Sand Baptism’ is one of those songs I find to be very catchy. Rivers of Nihil actually provoke people to scream along. Imagine yourself standing in a club listening to this song and yelling “I AM THE SUN, I AM THE MOON’. Amazing songwriting skills.

Monarchy by Rivers of Nihil gets 9.5/10
With an album this good I can only fear for the next album.

According to their biography System Overthrow, born in 2011, are a Dutch/Belgian three-man-one-woman outfit playing old school metal with a fresh angle. Well, they are spot on. Their music is old school thrash metal with a touch of speed which takes me right back to my teens when bands like Exodus, Flotsam & Jetsam and, closer to their native grounds, Jewel roamed the earth. From the straightforward song structures to the sharp, raging solos that seem to be seperate entities in the songs, from the machinegun-like drums to the somewhat rasping vocals often ending in a high pitch, everything on this debut album breathes eighties thrash.

Despite the unmistakable influences from the aforementioned and other similar bands from that era, System Overthrow is not simply piggybacking on the old school thrashers’ fame by copying their sound. In stead they extracted the best elements, blended them with a touch of System Overthrow and came up with, well, new old school thrash. This self titled album proves old school thrash, when played by skilled musicians, is still very much alive and viable.

Now for the actual album. Clocking well under 30 minutes there’s no time to waste, so the boys and girl jump into overdrive right from the start with the uncompromising album opener and title song ‘System Overthrow’. Strong playing guitarist Luc de Warem, who has no problem throwing in a solo or two, is backed by a solid rhythm section with Els Emonds on bass and Joeri Warmerdam on drums. Together they set the musical tone for the entire album in this short but furious song. Willy van der Kaa’s wide range vocals give the song the perfect extra bite to make it stand out. One of the best songs of the album in my opinion, if not the best!

Obviously there’s no rest for the wicked, they maintain the same speed and aggressive playing in the next two songs, ‘Cry Or Die’ and ‘Raining Death’, before changing course in ‘Rise From The Ashes’. Being a slow paced song with a high singalong level, ‘Rise…’ provides a much needed moment of rest and variation before the overdrive kicks in again, although slow paced is a relative concept here. The next three songs are, again, solid trash songs where all members can and do showcase their skills. Next it’s on to the more accessible closing track ‘Fallen Angel’, a great song to let the built up adrenalin flow out of your system again.

As far as I’m concerned, System Overthrow has released a great debut album, there’s definitely a lot of potential here. Old school thrash with a fresh coat of varnish, solid compositions, skilled play, screaming solos, they tick all the right thrash boxes. Pleasant on the ears of both old school thrashers as well as new generation metalheads, this album is an asset to many a metal collection. If they manage to keep these high standards up and are able to translate the energy of the album on to the stage they could have a great future ahead of them. I for one am curious to see them perform live when given the chance.

Despite of all this, there are a few points of attention in my opinion. First and foremost there’s the danger of monotony. There is not too much variation between the majority of the songs, apart from the vocal lines, which is perfectly fine for a certain amount of time. However, when you hear enough of those songs in a row you will inevitably lose your focus and interest. Let it be clear though, that this is not an issue on this album not in the last place because luckily (or was it intentionally?) the songs ‘Rise From The Ashes’ and ‘Fallen Angel’ have been placed at strategic moments in the track list, shutting out monotony before it can strike. Keeping the total playing time below half an hour helps as well of course. It is, however, definitely something to be wary of in the future.

My other point of attention is that the drums are a bit too thin in the mix for my liking, making them sound distant and somewhat blurry at times. This of course has nothing to do with the drummer’s skills, it’s simply a recording or production issue. This kept the album from showing its full potential, even though it’s impressive as it is anyway.

All this being said, ‘System Overthrow’ is an album well worth your attention and time.

Friday, August 28, 2015

Display of Decay was formed in 2007 in Edmonton (Canada) and is known for making an unique blend of old school metal with small parts of thrash and doom metal. After four well received indie releases, the band is ready to unleash its next full length album Dust of Existence. Sean Watson is responsible for the lead guitars and vocals, Avery Demarais is playing the drums, Jeremy Puffer is playing the rhythm guitars, the bass is for Jacob Maisonneuve and Jessy Leduc is doing vocals as well.

The album features eight tracks. The first song, Created to Kill, is a very aggressive song and makes you want to head bang almost immediately. It’s a good starter and it makes you wonder how the other seven tracks sound. I find it a little disappointing that I couldn’t hear what the lyrics are, but the grunts are pretty amazing. I was tempted to grunt along the whole song. The first song sadly ends very abruptly with the sentence ‘Created to Kill’. The second song is called ‘Relentless’ and also starts very aggressive. I’m starting to think at this point every song is really hardcore metal, but the last song really gives the album a nice twist. The last song is named after the album and starts very differently than the previous seven tracks. It starts with a windy storm and a calming guitar. At this point I’m actually surprised that the song is so calm. The rhythm of the song slowly changes into something similar to the other tracks. The track also ends slow, but not that abruptly this time.

The album is nice to listen to if you feel angry and want to lose the energy.

The album art is looking very apocalyptic and suits the title of the album very well.

Display of Decay is a very interesting band. The band has a lot of experience and you can hear that very well. I hope more people will be listening to the band after reading my review.

Cinematic prog metallers Opensight are proud to reveal the fruits of their work, their latest EP Ulterior Motives, over on the fantastic site Bloody-Disgusting.

The site commented: “Look, I love me some prog rock and metal. From the blistering technical showstoppers to the artistic “paintings turned into songs”, I’m into it. Opensight have set themselves apart by using their alt-metal basis and fusing it with dashes of funk, classy elegance, and exhilarating cinematic sweeps, resulting in something unique and absolutely delightful.”

The band added: “We feel great about being able to throw things we love into the music: Spy themes, surf rock guitars, 8-bit sounds, Giallo-esque touches and so on. Having that freedom turns the whole thing into something fun. Doing the artwork as a ‘Murder Mystery’ film style and creating teaser videos that emulate opening credits of vintage crime films or old thrillers. Putting all the work in is worth it.”

This Fall, California metallers, Saviours, will drop the molten fruits of their new full-length this Fall via a new partnership with France's Listenable Records. Titled Palace Of Vision, their first full-length in four years was captured at Type Foundry in Portland, Oregon with the inimitable Billy Anderson (Neurosis, Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth, Eyehategod, Taurus, Ommadon etc.) and boasts nine tracks of Saviours' signature brand of towering riffs, colossal rhythms, infectious guitar harmonies and an obsession with the end of times, the occult, psychedelics and the arcane. "It's a natural and logical continuation of where we left off with [2011's] Death's Procession," said drummer Scott Batiste of the offering. "There are some doomy crushers and faster ragers." As an added bonus, the record comes sheathed in the fittingly dark, intricately transfixing cover renderings of Derrick Snodgrass (Obliterations, Lecherous Gaze).

In anticipation of its arrival, today Cvlt Nation offers up the first helping of Palace Of Vision in the form of fifth bruiser, "Burning Shrine." Comments Batiste, "'Burning Shrine' is about watching the world burn as it is ruined by religious zealots. Crank it up, live evil or die!"

Adds Cvlt Nation: "This motherfucker is a straight raging jam! Fasten your seat belt, press play and let the mammoth riffs the band kicks out do the rest. Caution: Saviours have been known to cause non-stop headbanging - you have been warned!"

Still building upon the foundation that Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy and Motörhead laid, Saviours enters their second decade in a new partnership with French label Listenable Records. Rooted in hardcore punk but preferring to cruise in outer space, the lysergic of Saviours hessians have always brought a ton of swing and swagger to their forward-charging heavy metal. The band melds sounds from the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, progressive rock, and proto-doom, and delivers it all with a snarling West Coast hardcore edge. The result is an absolute beast of a sound that is all Saviours' own.

Since the 2005 release of Saviours' debut EP, Warship, the band has worked relentlessly, touring North America, Europe, and Japan with the likes of Mastodon, Corrosion Of Conformity, The Sword, High On Fire, Saint Vitus and Clutch. In a few short years, Saviours have risen to become stalwarts of the world's metal scene, ambassadors of an aggressive-yet-stoned West Coast vibe, inspired by the '70s but totally real and relevant in 2015.

Vancouver, BC's Saints of Death (a name inspired by the Mexican folklore of Santa Muerte (Spanish for Holy Death)) is a four piece that originally began as a Motorhead tribute band that has now taken the reins to write original material with a double bassist attack and set themselves apart from the pack with their unique heavy sound of thrash, doom and hardcore metal.

Fronted by vocalist and eight string bassist Twan Holliday, a giant standing nearly 7’ foot tall who can also be recognized for his acting credits in some well-known Hollywood movies and pro wrestling (credits below) is joined by four string bassist Darren Morris, guitarist Phil Henri and Christopher James on drums to complete a ferocious line up that will be unleashing their self-titled debut EP on September 25th.

Leading up to its release, the band has posted a new lyric video for their track 'Revolution' below.

They will be supporting it with a small tour across Alberta and British Columbia (dates listed below).

"This song is about unity and standing up for what is right! It’s a call to people everywhere to join together and fight for their rights and what’s right through Revolution." comments drummer Christopher James.

Austin, Texas indie metal machine Dead Earth Politics will celebrate a decade of metal next month with a string of dates across Texas. The trio of shows will culminate in the band's "official" birthday bash on October 16 at Dirty Dog Bar in Austin. The October 16 show will see original guitarist Ernie Clark joining the band onstage for a handful of Dead Earth Politics classics.

The shows are sponsored by legendary video show Robb's MetalWorks (Facebook). San Antonio's longest standing metal institution, Robb's MetalWorks will release a series of video interviews featuring members of Dead Earth Politics discussing the band's past, present and future. The first video in the series has been posted at this location.

Support acts for the first two shows will be announced in the coming weeks. The Austin gig will feature Critical Assembly, Southern Front, Shadow Spectrum and Black Thorn Halo.

Dead Earth Politics is fresh off the "Road to GWAR-BQ Tour," which saw the band raise hell from Texas to Virginia, where they laid waste to the GWAR-BQ Pavilion Stage. The band took along a video camera to chronicle their on and off-stage shenanigans. These mini-rockumentaries were hosted by MetalInjection.net and can be viewed here.

American progressive speed power metal band Zephaniah have released a promotional video for their recently completed long awaited upcoming new 2nd album "Reforged".

Watch it below.

Guitarist Justin Zych has checked in with the following update:

After a year in the studio and a lot of delays, we are finally done with the album! We are all excited to present you with a preview of our upcoming metal masterpiece! It's going to be triple the production of our first album and the songs are just as catchy and extreme! We are super proud of this new recording milestone and we look forward to its release!

Vanlade vocalist Brett Blackout has checked in with the following comment:

West coast, we are coming for you like a screaming metal deathtrap! Our new 2nd album "Rage of the Gods" drops on September 16 and we are way past excited to rip into this upcoming tour. Check out the tour schedule and come see us play some new tunes with some killer bands in your town! Buckle up, because Rage on Earth is upon you all! Remember to grab a copy this September, and as always - stay heavy or die!

Vanlade recently signed to Metalizer Records (Germany) for the European release of "Rage of the Gods" on both cd and vinyl formats.

"Rage Of The Gods" features ten brand new tracks of epic melodic speed / true heavy metal from Kansas City's own "Defenders of the Faith.

The album was mastered by guitarist / producer Stu "The Hammer" Marshall (Death Dealer / Empires of Eden / Blasted to Static / Ex-Dungeon) at his Frontier Studio in Sydney, Australia.

War Arts Productions is proud to present the debut album of Ruach Raah, Hate Fanaticism, set for international release on September 25th. Hailing from Portugal, this mysterious trio have been brewing in the underground for the last three years, releasing a debut demo and two successive splits. With Hate Fanaticism, Ruach Raah stake their claim as an austere new horde worth worshiping. Ten hymns of mid-paced black metal hailing Satan and death are blasted forth with total and utter cruelty. Imagine Ildjarn’s primitiveness meeting Darkthrone's '93/'95 aesthetic and all done within the rawness of early Celtic Frost: proto-minimalist, extremely organic, inherently old-school, and neckbreakingly catchy. It's a sound that hypnotizes and then ravages, uncompromising and close-minded, belligerent and battering, and carrying forward the transcendental regression left behind by the late Bone Awl. Hate Fanaticism will be available on vinyl format limited to 250 copies - 150 black and 100 magenta. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

War Arts Productions is a Portuguese label that began in 2007. Prizing quality over quantity and specializing in black metal, War Arts has put out a small-but-steady stream of releases by the likes of Xasthur, Nuit Noire, Thesyre, Onirik, Irae, Morte Incandescente, and Divine Codex among others, as well as the celebrated Lusitania Dark Horde II compilation, focusing exclusively on the rising Portuguese black metal scene. In addition to the label, War Arts runs a dedicated online mail-order. Ruach Raah's Hate Fanaticism will be the label's 17th release to date.

Hamilton, ON based Pyramids On Mars (the solo creation of guitarist Kevin Estrella) has teamed up with PureGrainAudio.com to offer fans a FREE download of the track 'Battle For Rome' from the upcoming ten track thriller 'Echo Cosmic', which is due out on September 8th to follow 2013's full length self-titled debut. The album is inspired by Estrella's fascination of UFO's including his own encounter, plus compositions that have come to him in dreams and allow him to offer an aural palette of intense, emotional, 3-dimensional, heavy and melodic progressive rock/ metal that includes a range of influences from Baroque classical guitar, classical composers J.S Bach and Antonio Vivaldi along with today's guitar virtuosos Yngwie Malmsteen and Joe Satriani.

To hear what's to come from the release, head on over to PureGraunAudio.com at the following link and get your free download

5 years after the release of the amazing 'The fell', France-based independent rock/stoner/southern-hardcore/metal quintet, Fishing With Guns is back to business with a brand new single called "It's poutring" available for streaming exclusive on Soundcloud (and the courtesy of Score A/V and Pure Grain Audio by the way) and teasing an album coming out this fall on CD & digital formats. The artwork of the this new effort by FWG has also been unveiled below.
Stream the new single "It's poutring" below.

... For the record...

The guys have been together since early 2005 and their sound is a mix of Southern rock, post-hardcore, and metal - think about blending acts like Converge, Pantera, Rage Against The Machine, Refused, SNOT, Neurosis, Every Time I Die, and maybe the Beastie Boys and that's what Fishing With Guns sounds like.

Fishing With Guns released their self-produced, debut full-length, The Night Fell, on September 29, 2010 which quickly garnered them a lot of local attention. The release was produced by Guillaume Mauduit (Seed From The Geisha) and would afford them many gigs local gigs with acts like Loudblast, La Dispute, The Prestige, Impure Wilhelmina, and Weedeater. Now, 5 years since that release, in October of 2015 Fishing With Guns will release its second full-length album, '...But The Dawn Will Come'.

Philadelphia ultragrind trio, Die Choking, continues to book new live actions in support of their impending III debut LP, which is unfuckwithably one of the most intense extreme releases of the year.

Die Choking's upcoming III LP presents an unbelievably dense display of some of the heaviest grindcore ever conceived. Stripped of overproduction, performed with devastating efficiency, and dripping with a foul aggression that is frequently absent in today's extreme music landscape, no samples or triggers were utilized in the recording and mixing process, which took place at the renowned Studio 4 with producer Will Yip (Lauryn Hill, Blacklisted, Cop Problem), after which it was mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Nails, Skinless, Integrity). The album's eleven unchained tracks are pressed to mighty 180-gram vinyl, and, following suit with both of Die Choking's prior 7" EPs, will see release in October through The Compound Recs.

In support of III, Die Choking's steady live campaign continues, with shows in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio this weekend including a Pets Without Parents Fundraiser. Sporadic shows throughout the Northeast with Today Is The Day, Abigail Williams, The Drip, Eaten, Grin And Bear It, Hivelords, Belus, Grizzlor, Old Lines and more through September will be followed by a US tour which will see Die Choking touring across the entire country including their first West Coast shows. Europe will be raided in February as well.

III will see digital release on October 8th and the vinyl on October 23rd. The LP is pressed on 180-gram wax in three insane color variants -- 100 in an A Side/B Side black-base 2 Blue Splatter, exclusive to The Compound, available here, and 200 each of Blues Of The Mighty Haze and Blue & Bone Splatter Milky Clear available through the band here.

Recent live footage of Die Choking supporting Catharsis in Philly was released by Hate5Six here and their headlining set in Brooklyn is at Metal Injection here. Stand by for additional audio, official videos and more on III as the album nears release.

Unleashing their new album 'Dust In Existence' on September 22nd, one of Edmonton, AB's most savage bands in the land Display Of Decay has teamed up with Decibel Magazine to discharge their latest track 'High Voltage Castration' along with an interview with guitarist Sean Watson here.

Widely noted for bringing a unique blend of old school death metal, with tinges of thrash and doom metal. The band has spread their infection across Western Canada sharing the stage alongside other elite acts such as The Faceless, Origin, Beyond Creation & more. After four well received indie releases, Display Of Decay is ready to unleash its next full length “Dust of Existence” that features eight aural assaulting tracks that will set the mosh pits ablaze later this Fall 2015.

Californian progressive death metal outfit, Arkaik, are set to unleash their third full-length via Unique Leader Records this Fall. Entitled Lucid Dawn, the ten-track magnum opus was engineered, mixed and mastered by Zack Ohren (Suffocation, Fallujah, Wrvth, All Shall Perish et al.) at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California, and takes Arkaik's multifaceted sound to an entirely new dimension, showcasing each musician's creative potential and upping the proverbial ante of the brutality and technicality of their back catalog. With the addition of guitarists Miguel Esparza (ex-Hatriot) and Greg Paulson as additional composers, Lucid Dawn delivers a fresh approach to the band's sound and the entire progressive death metal genre. As an added bonus, the album features guest appearances from death metal heavy weights, Trevor Strnad and Ryan Knight of The Black Dahlia Murder, as well as Bay Area live string quartet, Amaranth.

Lucid Dawn is the second installment in a series of concept albums revolving around Cyrix, a disillusioned character in a dystopian society. In Cyrix's world, dreaming is systematically controlled by a tyrannical ruler named Khaal-Li-Phar and his army of dark shamans, where people are forced to build monuments to the tyrant to stifle their imaginations and inhibit their ability to achieve a multi-dimensional existence. Lucid Dawn is a death metal take on American mythologist, writer and lecturer, Joseph Campbell's monomyth, and the beginning of Cyrix's "Hero's Journey." Musically and conceptually, Lucid Dawn carries the listener on a visceral exhibition through the depths of evil and beyond the threshold of mundane reality.

In conjunction with the release of Lucid Dawn, Arkaik will embark upon a near month-long headlining tour from October 16th through November 8th. The Lucid Revolution Tour will terrorize twenty four cities in eleven states with support from Bermuda and Enfold Darkness.

Creator-Destructor Records will release the self-titled debut EP by California thrash metal/crossover crushers, Wilderness Dream, this October, and the entire record has now been issued for streaming in its entirety.

Born from the thrash epicenter of the San Francisco Bay Area comes Wilderness Dream, a brand new, four-piece, heavy metal unit of destruction combining the speed and fury of 80s thrash and 90s death metal, with the melodic leanings and no-frills DIY aesthetic of modern day punk. Though boasting this unique amalgamation of influences, it comes as no surprise that the band would dawn both the melody-infused underpinnings and unrelenting intensity of the members' current and past projects.

With an unhinged vocal sincerity, blistering twin guitar assault, and undeniably crushing and thunderous rhythm section, Wilderness Dream's sound and identity has now been established, as proven on their self-titled debut EP, which was recorded, mixed and mastered by Scott Goodrich in July of 2015 at NuTone Studios in Pittsburgh, California. Clocking in at just under fifteen minutes, the six songs that comprise the band's debut release reflect a sonic attack reminiscent of thrash legends Sacrifice and Testament, with a violent and unrestrained vocal approach, more akin to crossover acts such as Cursed, Ringworm, and Integrity. Lyrically, Murray adopts a more stripped-down and bleak approach to the death-obsessed, anxiety-ridden regurgitation of his experience, moving through an overpopulated, immoral, and devastatingly distracted human landscape, and exploring his interpretation of the futility and uncertainty of life, while never negating our all-encompassing, ever-growing and universal fear of the end.

Wilderness Dream consists of guitarists/vocalists Ben Murray and Ryan Hansen, drummer Trey Derbes and bassist Bret Fontaine. Murray is the current frontman of Heartsounds, and former drummer of now defunct Prosthetic Record-signed, Light This City, and Heartsounds drummer Trey Derbes provides the ripping percussive style, offering a natural, live, and completely unedited approach to the drum production. While Murray and Derbes began writing what would become the band's debut release throughout the past few years, it become an entity of its own until Ryan Hansen entered the fold supplying second guitar and vocals, followed by Bret Fontaine joining in on bass guitar. Hansen and Murray share a musical history as well, as Hansen played lead guitar in Light This City, which contributes to the cohesive musical vision and camaraderie of what has now become Wilderness Dream.

Wilderness Dream's entire self-titled EP is now streaming in its entirety at this location.

Wilderness Dream will see an October 16th release via Murray's label, Creator-Destructor Records, in 12" 180-gram black vinyl, with a silkscreened B-Side in a gatefold jacket with download included, as well as all digital outlets. Preorders for the vinyl are available here.

The upcoming year will see Wilderness Dream on the road in support of their debut, having recently confirmed a hometown San Fran gig on October 27th, and a set at The Fest 14 in Gainesville, Florida on October 30th. Stand by for further an extensive list of tour dates to be announced throughout the rest of this year and into next to be announced. Furthermore, the band will record a second EP for release in late 2016.

Wilderness Dream of guitarists/vocalists Ben Murray and Ryan Hansen, drummer Trey Derbes and bassist Bret Fontaine. Murray is the current frontman of Heartsounds, and former drummer of now defunct Prosthetic Record-signed, Light This City, and Heartsounds drummer Trey Derbes provides the ripping percussive style, offering a natural, live, and completely unedited approach to the drum production. While Murray and Derbes began writing what would become the band's debut release throughout the past few years, it become an entity of its own until Ryan Hansen entered the fold supplying second guitar and vocals, followed by Bret Fontaine joining in on bass guitar. Hansen and Murray share a musical history as well, as Hansen played lead guitar in Light This City, which contributes to the cohesive musical vision and camaraderie of what has now become Wilderness Dream.

Cyclone Empire is completely proud to announce the signing of the Swedish doomed death underground sensation Moondark!

Hailing from Avesta, in the Swedish Dalarna County, Moondark are one of the oldest and hottest underground acts with a history hailing back to the year 1993, when they recorded their legendary first demo, before 3 of the band members formed the cult band Dellamorte. Cyclone Empire is very happy to welcome these lovely guys in their little family! New material and their first ever official album will be coming soon, and we keep you posted as soon as there´s anything more to let you know…expect some REAL heavy shit coming in 2016!!!

Statement by Johan Jansson: “We’re very pleased that we have inked a deal with Cyclone Empire! We know the guys since a couple of years so it feels great to be a part of their roster of killer bands. We’re excited to release our first “real” debut album on their label! We can already reveal that three songs have been made and that we will go into writing mode this autumn to complete the album. Expect old Doomy, slow Death Metal with no fashionable modish riffs, it will be heavy as hell!”

Embrace the call of the wild sloth... Sloth. - masterminded by Blake Caverly - is gearing up to release his first album Slow As Sh*t. An aptly titled exploration of fuzz-filled riffs and leafy grooves, the album draws from the diverse doomy quarters of Bongripper, Boris and Pallbearer among others.

Sweden's The Great Discord, who just unleashed their debut full-length album Duende in June, are pleased to announce that their new EP Echoes is now available for streaming on Spotify and will be available at other digital outlets and streaming services such as iTunes, Amazon, Google, Apple Music, and Rdio on 9/18. The Echoes EP contains a version of the track "The Aging Man" performed simply with a piano and Fia Kemp's striking vocals (music video coming shortly!), two cover tracks, and radio edits for their songs "The Aging Man" and "Ephemeral."

Here is what the band has to say about the new EP:

Greetings everyone,

This may come a little unexpected, but we are releasing a digital EP, entitled Echoes, today through Spotify, and a little later through other digital outlets. The reason for this EP is to give you another glimpse into what we are as a musical collective, but in a slightly different musical costume. The title simply refers to the function of an alternative version, serving an an echo of something that already exists. Which, incidentally, is another concept tying this together. Tabula Rasa, and how we become who we are through interactions with others. And of course, since we love Pink Floyd we could not resist the name.

The EP includes a very special and intimate version of The Aging Man, along with homages to the amazing Deftones, and The Mars Volta, two bands that have been a part of our lives for a very long time and inspired us immensely though their creativity and originality.

The cover art for this release was made by our very own André Axell. The music was captured by us, and yet again mixed / mastered by the eminent Niels Nielsen at Secret Location Studio.

We do hope you'll like it.

/TGD

Sweden has been a fertile ground for metal of all varieties for multiple decades, and there appears to be no sign that this will change anytime soon. The variety and quality of bands is staggering, and Metal Blade Records is prepared to help add The Great Discord to the list of one of Sweden's finest new groups. The band's cornerstone is with the enigmatic vocals of Fia Kempe. Her tone and delivery is immensely emotive and is augmented by a band whose sound is impossible to describe. It's technical, heavy, and yet not so much to overwhelm those not anointed in metal. What's important is that The Great Discord offers a truly unique twist on both metal, and what is to be expected from a female-fronted band.

One of the most unique things about The Great Discord is their visual presentation, which has been showcased not only in their live performance, but also in a series of video teasers and a full-length video for their album single "The Aging Man" that can be viewed here.

Renowned guitarist, producer and engineer Masaki Murashita has announced the upcoming release of Inescapable Damnation, the debut EP from his solo project Murashita.

Inescapable Damnation, which features the talents of David Ellefson (Megadeth), Kevin Talley (Suffocation, Six Feet Under, Chimaira), Kelly Conlon (Death, Monstrosity) and Rodney McGlothlin (Voice of Dissent), is set for an October 16 release. The EP's first single, "Retribution," is now streaming here.

Inescapable Damnation track listing:
1. Retribution
2. Inescapable Damnation
3. Death or Glory
4. Conquer the Foe
5. The Show Must Go On

Edmonton, AB's brutal horror mayhem known as Bleed has teamed up with MetalAddicts.com for the exclusive track premiere for 'Blood Ashes', the second single from their debut full length 'The Hatred Inside' due out on Sept 29th to follow up their 2014 Self-Titled EP. Bleed whom were also 2015 Wacken Metal Canada finalists, will be hitting the road this September for dates in across Alberta and British Columbia (dates listed below).

"Here is a song telling a tale of demonic warfare from the perspective of the victorious hoard. Once the world is laid to waste and the bodies heaped in piles, all is set to burn leaving nothing but Blood Ashes. Enjoy the carnage!" comments vocalist Robert Kreed.

Esoteric have announced the first batch of forthcoming European festival dates in 2016. The legendary UK funeral doom metal pioneers will appear at the Under the Doom Festival in Portugal, Temples Festival in the UK, and Under the Black Sun Festival in Germany. A full list of shows can be found below.

Esoteric are touring in support of their latest double album 'Paragon of Dissonance' (2011), which is still available from the Season of Mist shop and streaming in full at the group's official Bandcamp page.